Agència per a la Qualitat del Sistema Universitari de Catalunya

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Accreditation

The content of this page is from the Framework for the ex-ante assessment, monitoring, modification and accreditation of recognised degrees, approved by the AQU Board of Management during the session on 2 July 2010. Currently, AQU is working on developing this assessment procedure.

As the corresponding external quality assurance body, AQU Catalunya is responsible for the accreditation of programmes and awards.

In order for accreditation to remain current, programmes must obtain a positive accreditation report subsequent to verification that the corresponding curriculum is being followed according to the initial project, which involves a review that must include a site visit to the institution.

The accreditation of Bachelor and Master's degree courses is a unique element in the university's continuous improvement strategy, and the process takes into consideration the following sources of information:

• The progress reports on degree courses produced by the bodies/individuals stated in each university's IQAS and referred to AQU Catalunya.
• Evaluation reports produced by AQU Catalunya throughout the year on the progress reports.
• External review reports on degree programmes issued by the external review team, described in the previous section.

Formal accreditation of recognised degrees will be issued by the corresponding Accreditation Panel set up by AQU Catalunya.

The site visit

In order to streamline all of the processes and make them workable, AQU Catalunya proposes that external reviews of all recognised degree courses offered at a particular institution be carried out simultaneously (Bachelor, Master's and doctorate degrees), the objective being to:

• To include programme reviews with the institutional review.
• To promote coherency between Bachelor, Master's and doctorate degrees.
• To give an overview of each institution (university, faculty, school) and enhance its strategic vision.
• To simplify the external review process.
• To seek economies of scale that reduce the costs of external review.

The institution (faculty, department or school) becomes the organisational blueprint for the external review, as it is the IQAS that provides the essential structure for the process of producing and analysing the progress reports for each degree course.

AQU Catalunya will organise a number of external reviews of university institutions (around 25) every year through a site visit by an external review team. The objective is to review the departments, faculties and schools in all Catalan universities within a period of six years. Each institutional review will cover the review of all degrees and courses that are taught there.

The external review team may include international experts. The inclusion of international experts provides an essential frame of reference for comparing the development of degree courses with the experience of other universities in Europe and elsewhere. This approach would call for the relevant information for the external review to be worded in English.

The accreditation report

For the accreditation report, the following will be taken into consideration:

• The actual development of the programme in relation to the current project, i.e., the project's format (ex-ante assessment) together with any additional modifications.
• Any non-substantial modifications that have affected the initial project and its effect on the programme.
• Enhancement proposals and their effect on the programme following their implementation.
• Changes in the programme indicators over time.

The accreditation report of a degree programme may either:

1. Be positive.
2. Be positive and include enhancement proposals.
3. Contain non-substantial modification proposals. In this case, accreditation will not yet come into effect and this will be conditioned by any indicated modifications being implemented, which will then need to be reassessed by AQU Catalunya within the specified time period.
4. Insist on substantial modifications and therefore a repeat ex-ante assessment of the degree.
5. Propose the withdrawal of authorisation to continue teaching the curriculum.

23.5.2013